Brandywine Investigations Read online

  "Nobody knows, not really. You kinda figure it out as you go, most times. If you love me, that's all I'm asking for as, you know, building materials. Blocks. Legos. Though I promise not to leave them all over the floor." Dio pulled back, his fingers cool on Leander's overheated cheek. "So. Courting. I brought you things. Don't you wanna know what they are? I'm always dying to see what's inside a present."

  For the second time that afternoon, Leander dried his eyes, though he managed a smile this time. "I see the basil plant. That's lovely. The gardeners will be pleased."

  "Good. We'll bring it to them later. I thought about bringing you a bouquet of flowers, more traditional and stuff. But the flowers would die, and that didn't seem too nice." Dio pushed the larger rectangular box toward him, the one wrapped in paper depicting colorful sea creatures playing musical instruments. "Go on. Open one."

  Leander had never received a wrapped present before, so he took his time picking it up and examining the clever paper. He untied the bright-orange ribbon and folded it neatly on the table, then began to break the tape at each end without damaging the paper too much.

  Dio flopped back, arms flung out to either side in a dramatic gesture. "Sweet mother of us all, you're killing me!"

  "I don't want to ruin it," Leander said softly as he slid the box free, a shining green with gold writing in French.

  "It's chocolate. Herm says it's fantastic chocolate. I know it's not something you should eat tons of. But I checked and stuff, and it should be okay for you."

  "Thank you." Leander blinked at the box. No one had ever brought him chocolate, and he'd never thought to ask. "Is that also… traditional?"

  "It is. Yeah." Dio pushed the second rectangle closer. "This last one I'm thinking is more of a birthday present. Since we don't know your birthday, I figured today would be a good day for one."

  Leander managed another little smile. "I should have made cake, then."

  "Crap. I should've brought cake. And candles. Your first birthday in centuries."

  "Hush. No. This is quite lovely, what you've done."

  The second package turned out to be a zippered case, which Leander opened and found himself staring at his reflection on a shiny black surface. "Ah… hmm."

  Dio bounced up to sit beside him on the sofa. "It's a tablet. So you have one of your own. For reading stuff." He guided Leander's hand to a little protrusion on the side, and the screen lit. "It can do lots of stuff. And you can use it as a regular computer, you know, if you feel like it'll help at work. But this little guy here—" Dio touched a square on the bottom row of colored squares. "This is your own personal library."

  A display of book covers popped up on the screen, and Leander scanned them in amazement, Dickens, Poe, Chaucer, Austen, the Bronte sisters, and several authors unfamiliar to him, as Dio scrolled through the titles.

  "I preloaded some books." Dio's voice had gone soft, perhaps uncertain. "But I had everybody help. Everybody gave me what they thought would be good books for you. Even George helped. And you have your own account. I'll show you later. It's preloaded with book funds too, so you can buy whatever the hell you want. Old stuff. New stuff. Tantric instructional manuals. Really cool manga. Furniture repair DIY stuff."

  "This…" Leander slid an arm around Dio so they could both look at the screen more easily. "I don't know what to say."

  "Thank you? You're not a complete idiot, Dio? Please stay for a bit?"

  Leander set the tablet down, hoping he wasn't about to make a terrible mistake. Though it had taken a spare few minutes for Dio to lift the heavy veil of sorrow from his heart. "Thank you. Please stay. I never thought you were an idiot." He took Dio's hand, thumb rubbing over his palm. "Are you certain you want to do this? To tie yourself to one place? One person? One incredibly boring, stodgy, antisocial person?"

  "Yes," Dio said, perhaps the shortest answer Leander had ever received from him.

  "Because it will resemble a normal relationship with our, ah, day jobs?"

  "Exactly. It's not like I haven't had real relationships before. It's just been a few centuries." Dio toed off his dress shoes so he could sit cross-legged on the sofa facing Leander. "You make me feel less like a person with a brain mosaic. Calmer. Maybe not calmer, but less Muppet flail all over the place. I think I knew I loved you the minute I saw your garden and how much you cared about it. Just took me a bit to figure it out. Even if you never let me in your bedroom, even if you never trust me around your popsicle buildings, and really, who could blame you? I'll still love you."

  Leander lifted his horns to kiss Dio's forehead. "I can't promise never to be jealous. I can't promise never to be unhappy or confused. But I am happier when you're with me. I would… would like to try. Would you like a chocolate?"

  "I'd be happier with just you right now." Dio stroked his hair, careful to avoid the still-sore horns.

  "Weren't we supposed to be courting?" Leander pulled Dio closer, breathing in his spice-and-musk scent.

  "You can have sex with courting. It's in the rulebook."

  Leander's lips curved in the first smile he'd managed that day. "Is it? I suppose that's quite proper, then. Ah, I've just repaired the sofa though, and I moved the mattress back to the bedroom."

  "Yeah, I noticed you kinda cleaned up around here. Place was a mess."

  "I suppose it was." Leander hesitated, running a hand up and down the silk of Dio's jacket arm. "If it's not too forward a thing to ask of my suitor, would you like to move to the bedroom?"

  Dio twitched back, eyes wide. "Really? Are you sure? I mean, you said the pandas don't even go there."

  "I think I can make an exception for such a handsome, well-dressed god. I think… I think it's time."

  "Okay." Dio rose and held out his hands, waiting until Leander stood with him. "But we do this like we did the first time. Room by room, and any place you change your mind, we stop."

  "Agreed." Leander pulled Dio into the kitchen, where Dio reached up to undo the first two buttons of Leander's shirt.

  "Staying or going on?"

  "We'll proceed."

  In the workroom, Leander tugged off Dio's ascot and jacket, leaving them draped neatly over the chair. In the study, Dio stood behind him, kneading his shoulders as he peeled Leander out of his cardigan. In the hall where Leander kept most of his books, he puzzled out how to remove Dio's cuff links with a soft kiss between each. In the elaborate bathroom with the shower large enough to accommodate his horns, Dio tugged the shirt from Leander's kilt, undid the remaining buttons, and left it draped on the vanity.

  "Still good?" he whispered against Leander's shoulder.

  "Still forging on." Leander pulled the shirt over Dio's head and placed it carefully with his own.

  Dio made appreciative noises when they turned the corner into the bedroom. As he toed off his shoes, he ran a hand over the nearest bedpost. "I love your bed. It's perfect for you."

  The four-poster bed was large enough for several humans to sleep together, the posts and headboard carved with apples and sheaves of wheat. Curtains draped around the bed so Leander could pretend he was in a hidden space at night, though there was no canopy to make him feel trapped.

  "It's good to hear. I've often wondered if it wasn't… appropriate. With the blue curtains. Not…"

  "You were worried that your pretty curtains weren't manly enough? Dude, you're a bull. Even if you're a Ferdinand kind of bull, there's nothing more macho. Not that it matters either way. A guy could have a frilly bed skirt, and it'd still be manly, because it'd be his bed skirt. Can I get in it? Is it okay?"

  Leander hesitated, his heart thudding. This was the last barrier. The last place that was his and only his. If he did this, agreed to this, he would no longer have an inviolate sanctum. Dio would be in every part of his life. He should have been frightened by this fact, and he rolled it over in his mind as Dio waited patiently, watching him. He was nervous, yes, perhaps a bit anxious over the newness of it, but there was no fear. That thought made
him blink in shock. There was no fear.

  His voice only trembled a bit as he said, "Pants off, first, if you don't mind."

  "As you wish, my prince." Dio grinned and undid his trousers with a few swift tugs, letting the weight of the belt drop them to the floor. He stepped out of them, yanked off his socks, and turned toward the bed when his eyes widened a fraction. "Oh, damn."

  "What is it? Dio?" On those two words, Leander's fear threatened to return. "Have I done something wrong?"

  "No. Oh, holy stars, no. I'm just pretty sure you don't keep lube in here. I don't always need it, but you're bigger than the average bear."

  "You've had… bears?"

  Dio chuckled, and the fear slunk away again. "No, hon, it's an expression. You have lotion in the bathroom or anything?"

  "Oh… oh yes. Please, ah, make yourself comfortable." Leander trotted back to the bathroom to retrieve anything that might be useful. The hand lotion, the hoof-care oil, and the hair conditioner he used to try to tame his curling, frizzy hair all returned with him to the bedroom.

  When he returned to the bedroom, he nearly dropped the supplies. Dio lay stark naked, sprawled out on his bed on his back, one knee bent up to expose just… everything. He'd certainly seen Dio naked before, but he looked so beautiful, olive skin and ebony hair against the blue and white bedspread.

  "Let's see what you have there." Dio rolled to his side to inspect the bottles, reading the labels one at a time. "Hmm, the hoof stuff might be a little too experimental even for me. Pine tar… a little iffy. The lotion, not bad. Has some alcohol in it. Looks like the conditioner's the best bet. Nice and slippery and gentle for me."

  With a wink, Dio set the bottles on the nightstand and held out his arms. "Take off that damn kilt and get in here."

  Leander's heart was pounding again, but for a reason other than fear. His pulse pounded in several other places, including his cock. He reached over with shaking fingers and unfastened his kilt, letting it fall to the floor atop Dio's pants, and stalked toward the bed, his excitement only growing as Dio's eyes devoured his every move.

  Careful of horn placement, he kept his head up as he prowled up the bed between Dio's spread legs. Dio's hands came up to caress his ribs, then his hips, Leander's skin shivering under the gentle touches. He hovered over Dio, snuffling, breathing him in, bent his head for a kiss, and his horns caught on the comforter.

  At his displeased grunt, Dio caught his horns, grinning. "Stay still. I'll come to you." He curled his torso up until his lips brushed Leander's, sending heated, melting prickles down his spine, prickles that became electric jolts when Dio seized his lips, crashing into him without mercy.

  Leander sat back on a moan, trying to catch his breath. "I don't… I don't…"

  "Maybe not with me on my back, right?" Dio stroked Leander's thigh in widening circles that brought him closer and closer to the apex. "Don't wanna risk holes in your mattress. Or, oh, could you stand up, maybe?"

  "Stand?" Leander's brain had already put on its hat and gone for a walk. He couldn't begin to puzzle out what Dio meant.

  "Yeah. Scoot. Off the bed, big guy." Dio gave him another soft kiss, still grinning, so the goal didn't seem to be simply to kick him out of bed.

  As Leander backed off, Dio squirmed along with him, still on his back, until his lovely ass reached the edge. He ran his heels up Leander's flanks and rested his feet, cool and surprisingly smooth, against Leander's chest.

  "Kinda see the possibilities?"

  Leander considered. He would still need to crouch. The angle would be awkward to hold for too long, hard on the thighs, but it did elevate his head enough to be more practical. He caressed one of Dio's feet, worshipping the perfection of instep and arch, bending his head to nuzzle softly at his toes.

  Dio jerked his foot and laughed. "Sorry. Tickles." Then his smile shifted to something softer, pain lurking in his eyes. "I was so fucking scared, Leander. So scared when I couldn't find you. If I'd come too late, if she'd already—" He broke off on a choked sound, and Leander kissed his arch, his calf, the back of his knee, trying to distract him. Dio took a shuddering breath, staring up at the ceiling. "Pretty sure my mind wouldn't have survived finding you dead."

  "I'm not dead." Leander caught his gaze and held it. "I was just as frightened for you. But I'd very much like not to think about that right now."

  "What are you thinking?"

  "How beautiful you look on my bed. How empty my bed has been until it held you. How full of life and love you are, and how lucky I am to be able to love you."

  Dio wiped at his eyes even as he grinned, running his uncaptured foot up and down Leander's chest. "Amazing how much of a smooth talker you are when you're turned on."

  With a jolt, Leander realized he hadn't been stammering at all. He had spoken of feelings and had managed to sound nearly normal. "I think you must be medicinal somehow."

  "That would be a cool thing. Actual sexual healing."

  Dio bent sideways in a ridiculous display of flexibility and snagged the conditioner bottle from the nightstand. His smile turned unabashedly seductive as he poured some out onto his fingers. He pulled a knee up to his chest, mouthed watch as he reached around, and slid a slick finger into himself, then another. Leander stood fixated, gaping as need rushed through him and his balls grew so heavy he thought they might double as miniature anvils.

  "Come and get it, then, gorgeous. As much as you can stand."

  "How should—"

  Leander's question cut off in a moan as Dio wrapped lean-muscled legs around him and pulled him in closer. Head and shoulders on the mattress, his stomach muscles stood out in hard relief as he lifted his ass to the height of Leander's groin, Dio still managed to reach between his legs and guide Leander's cock to his now-slippery hole.

  "I don't mind doing all the work. More of a challenge, and it makes me hot when you watch like that." Dio stroked slick fingers up and down Leander's erection, scattering his thoughts. "But don't feel like you have to wait on me. Any initiative you want to take."

  "Oh. I'm… I'm sorry. I beg your pardon." Leander's face heated, and he slid his hand underneath Dio to support him, pushing forward slowly to help Dio as he squirmed and shifted, trying to impale himself.

  That impossible moment came when he was certain he would never fit, his girth simply too much for the aperture he tried to enter. But Dio's body always proved him wrong, opening for him, welcoming him as the head of his cock popped through the tight outer ring. He groaned and rested his head against Dio's knee, reveling in the hot embrace, a rush of pleasure searing through him at Dio's appreciative moan.

  "Leander?"

  All set to drive in hard the way Dio liked, Leander stilled, blinking hard. "Hmm?"

  "I'm honored that you let me be here with you. Here. Where you don't even allow pandas. On your bed, where no one's been before. Kinda makes me sound like a deep-space explorer, but you know what I mean."

  "I've never loved anyone before." Leander stroked the backs of Dio's thighs and leaned to push in another inch just to watch the expression of intense pleasure on Dio's face. "Never trusted anyone… Not like this."

  Dio's smile was soft, his eyes shining with adoration as he whispered, "Leander, fuck me."

  "My pleasure."

  Leander grunted as he drove in, wringing a delighted cry from Dio, who squirmed and wriggled but was unable to thrust with his lower half up in the air, his legs draped over Leander's arms. Control was a strange, heady feeling, not one Leander thought he would want all the time. The newness of it was exciting though, the way Dio's beautiful, flexible body answered to his every whim.

  "Higher, love," Dio got out on a strangled whimper. His leaking cock bounced against his stomach with every thrust. He tossed his head, hands fisted in the covers. "Lift me a little higher."

  Straightening so he was almost standing instead of crouching, Leander lifted Dio with him effortlessly, the angle making his pulse sing in his ears. Dio's grip on him tightened,
making Leander gasp and lose his rhythm.

  "There. Right. There. Leander. Oh. Fuck." Dio's words dissolved into sharp cries, closer and closer together until they were a staccato crescendo ringing off the bedroom walls. "Leander!"

  Streams of white shot from Dio's cock in high arcs, hitting his chest and neck. Leander thrust harder, his balls drawing up at the sight of his lover's enthusiastic release. Three strokes, and the heavy weight of pleasure at the base of his spine shot upward, Leander bellowing his release as he came deep inside Dio's clenching body.

  His vision blurred with the force of his orgasm, his thrusts nearly bending Dio in half as he cried out with each hard ejaculation. Panting, sweat rolling down his chest as he gently lowered Dio's legs, he pulled out slowly and crawled up on the bed to collapse on his side.

  Dio scooted over to him, ducking between his horns to snuggle close. "Holy hand grenades. Wow."

  "That was good?"

  "That was fuckinglutely amazing."

  Leander chuckled, stroking gentle fingers through Dio's hair and over the fading bruise on his cheek. "Did you want to sleep for a bit? You still look a little tired."

  "Would you read to me?"

  "Ah, I see." Leander tapped Dio's nose. "Now I understand the gift. It was entirely selfish."

  "It was not!" Dio huffed, then his eyes widened when Leander grinned. "Crap. You're teasing me. The universe is officially ending. But you didn't answer the question. Will you?"

  "Of course I'll read to you."

  Even though Dio's eyes had been half-closed in sated satisfaction a moment before, now he bounced up and dashed out of the bedroom, giving Leander a wonderful view of his fine, muscular butt. He was back with the e-reader almost before Leander had rearranged pillows and settled against the headboard.

  "I checked on Jane. She's sleeping but said we should keep the noise down. I mean, she was sleeping, then said that, then went back to sleep." Dio dropped the tablet on the bed and bounced onto the mattress.